diamonds could mean Rachel,’’ Ainsworth said. ‘‘Jacob’s second wife, right?’’
‘‘Yes,’’ I said.
‘‘And that could mean Paula Trowbridge.’’
‘‘Yes,’’ I said again.
‘‘Who is this Argine?’’ Ainsworth asked.
‘‘They’re really not sure,’’ I said, ‘‘but it could be an anagram of the Latin word for ‘queen,’ regina.’’ I paused for a moment. ‘‘I found out today that Lorraine Trowbridge’s middle name is Regina, and according to her son, Avery used it as kind of a nickname for her.’’
‘‘Basically, then, if what you say about the card is right, Trowbridge was trying to tell us one of his wives killed him,’’ Ainsworth said. ‘‘I suppose it’s possible. We know he didn’t die immediately. He might have been able to pick up a card.’’
His cell phone rang, and he got up from the sofa. ‘‘Excuse me, ladies.’’ He strode over to a corner of the room to answer the call.
We could hear him speaking, but the words were unintelligible, the conversation brief. He snapped his phone shut and returned to the sofa.
‘‘There were only fifty-one cards at the crime scene,’’ Ainsworth said, ‘‘counting the one in the victim’s hand.’’
‘‘So it looks like the king of spades came from the same deck,’’ Sophie said.
‘‘Yeah,’’ Ainsworth said, ‘‘it sure looks like it.’’ He turned to me. ‘‘So what about the king of spades?’’
‘‘King David,’’ I said promptly.
‘‘And that means?’’ Ainsworth was clearly puzzled.
‘‘Think of David and Bathsheba,’’ I said. ‘‘Or David and Goliath.’’ I waited, wondering whether Ainsworth would draw the same conclusions that we had.
Marylou started to speak, but I held up my hand. She subsided, nodding.
‘‘David and Bathsheba,’’ the deputy said. ‘‘Paula Trowbridge was married to Basil Dumont before she married Trowbridge, right?’’
‘‘Yes,’’ I said.
‘‘So maybe Dumont wanted to kill Trowbridge for taking his wife away from him. Is that what you’re saying?’’
‘‘It’s a possibility,’’ I said, ‘‘but I don’t think that’s really the motive.’’
‘‘David and Goliath, then,’’ Ainsworth said. ‘‘Trowbridge was Goliath, because he had a bigger name in the bridge world. David is Dumont, who was jealous and wanted to take his place. David the giant killer. Dumont.’’
I could see that this line of reasoning appealed to him.
‘‘Okay, then,’’ Ainsworth said, ‘‘if the king of spades is supposed to point the finger at Dumont, how did it get in here?’’
‘‘I’ve thought about that,’’ I said, ‘‘and I think what happened is this. When I went into the room next door, I think Paula Trowbridge was already in there, in the bedroom. She might have heard me and hid. She found the body before I did, saw that Avery was holding the king of spades in his hand. She knew what he was trying to tell us, and she put the queen of diamonds in his hand instead, to throw suspicion on someone else.’’
‘‘Even herself?’’ Ainsworth cocked an eyebrow in skepticism.
‘‘I doubt she thought of it that way,’’ I said.
‘‘I’m sure she didn’t,’’ Marylou said. ‘‘Paula must have been thinking of the queen as Argine, the anagram of regina. She certainly would have known that Lorraine’s middle name is Regina, and that Avery used it as a nickname for his first wife.’’
‘‘That makes sense,’’ Ainsworth said, nodding. ‘‘And it’s plausible, I guess, that Paula Trowbridge could have been in the room before you got there.’’
I nodded. ‘‘I heard her behind me, but I couldn’t swear she came into the room from the hall. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I really do think she was in the bedroom. She simply waited until my back was to her before she came up to me, pretending she had just come into the suite.’’
‘‘This sure is a crazy case,’’ Ainsworth said, shaking his head.
‘‘I suppose we’ve made it more complicated,’’ I said, ‘‘telling you all this about the meaning of the cards, and so on.’’
Ainsworth laughed. ‘‘Yeah, you have, but I wouldn’t have known anything about it if you hadn’t told me. It’s weird, but I’m danged if I don’t believe you’re right. It all has to mean something. The question is, how do I know which interpretation is the right one?’’
Before Sophie, Marylou, or I could respond to him, someone banged loudly on our door. Once again, Sophie went to answer it. She barely had time to step out of the way before Paula Trowbridge pushed the door so hard it banged against the doorstop and shuddered there. Paula strode into the room, Basil Dumont in tow. He didn’t look too happy to be here.
‘‘What on earth?’’ Marylou said, standing up. ‘‘Paula, what is the